Improvement in hat-pouncing machines



A. L. I. MITCHELL. Hat-Pounoing Machine.

No. 221,594. Patented Nov. 11,1879.

Witnesses. Inventor NVPEIERS, PHOTO-UTNOGRAFHER. WASMINGYON, n c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBION L. F. MITCHELL, OF METHUEN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF,J. W. FULTON, AND G. J. SARGENT, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAT-POUNGING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 22 1,5941, datedNovember 11, 1879; application filed September 20, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBION L. F. MITCHELL, of Methuen, in the county ofEssex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements inHat-Pouncing Machines, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hat-pouncing machines employing a movingsurface coated with a granular material-such as sand and emeryto dressand remove a portion of the surface of a hat-body presented to saidsurface.

Heretofore the granular material has been rigidly affixed to theperiphery of a rotating roll, the common method of securing the granularmaterial to the roll being to glue the material to a sheet of paper andfasten the latter to the roll.

' Several objections attend the employment of a roll having a granularcoating, among which are the following: First, the roll rotates veryrapidly, and the fine dust removed by its granular surface from thehat-body has not time to free itself from the roll during a completerotation of the latter; hence such dust is repeatedly carried over thehat-body and ground into it, giving the hat a dingy, dull appearance,which can be removed onlyby vigorous and long-continued brushing, if atall, and often it has been found that after the but has been brusheduntil itis materially damaged by the brushing the dust is not entirelyremoved; second, the rapid rotation of the roll necessitates therepeated passage of the same portion of its surface over the hat at suchshort intervals of time that the surface heats rapidly by its frictionon the hat, and is not allowed sufficient time to cool; hence it growshotter the longer it is used. The heat thus acquired by the roll softensthe glue that holds the granular material, and decreases the durabilityof the pouncing-surface, so that it has to be frequently renewed, thusinvolving expense of time, labor, and material.

My invention has for its object to provide a substitute for the coveredroll heretofore employed, whereby the above-named objections pulleys, asa means for pouncin g hat-bodies, as I will now proceed to describe.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a side view of a hat-pouncing machine embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 represents an end view of the same.

Similar letters of reference refer to like parts in both figures.

In carrying out my invention I provide a suitable frame, A, supportingfeed-rolls J J, to feed a hat-body to the pouncing-belt here inafterdescribed. and a bed, J, to support the hat-body and present it to saidpouncing-belt, said feed-rolls and bed being preferably arranged andoperating as shown in my patent of August 26, 1879. Instead of therotating cutter employed in said patent, I employ a plain pulley, A,located in the same position relatively to the feed-rolls and bed assaid rotary cutter.

B represents an endless belt, coated with sand or emery on its outersurface, said belt constituting the essential part of my presentinvention. The belt B runs upon and is driven by the pulley A, which ispositively rotated, and said belt also runs over a loose pulley, O,which is journaled in any suitable support at a suitable distance fromthe pulley A.

The length of the belt may vary according to circumstances. I haveobtained good results with a belt ten or twelve feet long. The belt ismade in a continuous piece without a seam, and may be of linen, rubber,leather, or other suitable material.

In the operation of the machine the .pulley A is rapidly rotated andsets the belt B in motion. The hat-body is presented to the portion ofthe belt that runs upon the pulley A in the same manner that thehat-body was presented to the rotary cutter in said patented machine.

By the large extent of surface afforded by the belt the followingadvantages are obtained, viz:

First, the dust removed from the hat-body is wholly removed from thesurface of the belt by gravitation, and the usual lateral motion of thebelt between its pulleys before such dust can again reach the surface ofthe hat; hence there is no grinding of the dust into the surface of thehat; second, the surface of the belt is exposed to the air after passingover the hat, so thatitcannotbecomeinjuriouslyheated; third, the belt,being endless, has no ridges or protuberances to eorrngate the hat-body.

I have found by practical experiments that a hat can be operated uponmore rapidly and with less liability to injury by the belt than by theordinary covered pouncing-roll, and that a machine provided with thebelt, as described, can be run more economically than with an ordinarycovered roll.

The granular material, when applied to the roll on paper, is liable tohave protuberances or ridges formed in the operation of securing thepaper to the roll, unless said operation is very carefully performed,and these protuber- ALBION L. F. MITCHELL. Witnesses:

GEO. W. PIERCE, (J. F. BROWN.

